52% of Athletes Granted Military Exemptions Are Asian Games Football and Baseball Players

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An analysis of all individuals granted military service exemptions in the fields of sports and the arts over the past five years revealed that more than half of the athletes were members of national football and baseball teams who won gold medals at the Asian Games, while more than half of the artists were first-place winners in domestic competitions. Criticisms have arisen that the benefits are disproportionately skewed toward specific competitions and events, running counter to the system's intended purpose of "enhancing national prestige."

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

According to Military Manpower Administration data obtained by SBS, 80 national team athletes were assigned as sports personnel under military service exemption rules from 2022 to August of this year.

There were 15 Olympic medalists, while Asian Games gold medalists numbered 65, accounting for 81% of the total.

In effect, the benefits have been concentrated on the Asian Games, where competition is relatively less fierce.

Disparities across sports disciplines were also significant.

Out of the 80 athletes, 23 were football players and 19 were baseball players, making up a majority.

In particular, all of them received the exemption benefits through the Asian Games.

The situation was similar for this year's Asian Games.

[Cho Gye-won / Member of the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee (Democratic Party of Korea): "A total of 43 people are receiving benefits this time, and 36 of them are from football and baseball. Winning a world championship is much harder and more challenging than winning at the Asian Games, yet world championship winners receive no benefits at all."]

For artistic personnel receiving military service exemptions, controversy has continued that the practice does not fit the intended goal of "enhancing national prestige," because although the number of qualifying competitions has been reduced, certain domestic competitions are still recognized.

Among the 93 art personnel who received exemptions over the past five years, 49 were first-place winners in domestic competitions, while 44 were first- or second-place winners in international competitions.

Several amendment bills to the Military Service Act have been introduced in the National Assembly.

A bill proposed by Representative Joo Ho-young seeks to remove the Asian Games from exemption eligibility and instead grant exemptions to artists and athletes with exceptional achievements through a recommendation by the National Assembly and a resolution by the Cabinet.

A bill proposed by Representative Cha Gyu-geun calls for art and sports personnel to pay a contribution if they earn more than 5 million won per month during their service period.

Controversy surrounding military service exemptions for art and sports personnel has persisted for more than a decade.

[SBS Nightline (October 2014): "Fifty-nine athletes are expected to receive military exemptions from this Asian Games. As this includes many professional athletes, voices in the political arena are calling for reforms to this system..."]

Because previous reform efforts repeatedly fizzled out in the face of backlash from the arts and sports communities, calls are growing that this time must be different.

(Video by Oh Young-chun and Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Park Seon-soo | Graphics by Kim Ye-ji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.